Nadal cruises through

World number two Rafael Nadal booked his place in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open today with a 6-2 6-3 win over Colombian qualifier Robert Farah.

Six-time Barcelona champion Nadal had too much for the world number 246, although the Spaniard was broken back at the start of the second set before breaking Farah twice more to seal the match.

Nadal was joined in the last eight by second seed Andy Murray, who was in ruthless mood as he dispatched another Colombian, world number 54 Santiago Giraldo, 6-1 6-2 in just 74 minutes.

Third seed David Ferrer was an even easier winner, dispatching Spanish compatriot Albert Montanes 6-0 6-2, and fifth-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic beat another Spaniard, Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-2.

Sixth seed Nicolas Almagro was the biggest casualty of the day, falling 6-3 6-3 to Canadian 11th seed Milos Raonic, but seventh seed Feliciano Lopez eased past Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 6-1.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori, seeded eight, beat Albert Ramos of Spain 7-6 (7-2) 6-2, but ninth seed Fernando Verdasco was another Spanish winner with a 6-4 6-4 win over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.